Chatham albatross
Chatham albatross | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Procellariiformes |
Family: | Diomedeidae |
Genus: | Thalassarche |
Species: | T. eremita
|
Binomial name | |
Thalassarche eremita | |
Synonyms | |
|
The Chatham albatross (Thalassarche eremita), also known as the Chatham mollymawk or Chatham Island mollymawk,[4] is a medium-sized black-and-white albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid, a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand (Aotearoa). It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the shy albatross Thalassarche cauta. It is the smallest of the shy albatross group.
Taxonomy
Mollymawks are a type of albatross that belong to family
The Chatham albatross, with the
The Chatham albatross was first described as Diomedea cauta eremita by Robert Cushman Murphy, in 1930, based on a specimen from Pyramid Rock.[3]
Description
The Chatham albatross weighs 3.1 to 4.7 kg (6.8–10.4 lb)[4] and it has a length of 90 cm (35 in). The adult has a dark grey crown, face, upper mantle, back, upperwing, tail, and throat. They have a white rump and underparts. They also have a black thumbmark on the leading edge of the underwings, and a black tip on the wings. Their bill is yellow with a dark spot on the tip of the lower mandible.[8] Finally, they have an orange cheek stripe.[4] The juveniles have more extensive grey and their bill is blue-grey with black tips on both mandibles.[8][11][12][13]
Behaviour
They are normally silent, but will emit a harsh buzzing bray when threatened and also during courtship. Besides the sound they will put on a courtship display which includes fanning of the tail, mutual jousting of bills, and grunting.[4]
Feeding
The Chatham albatross feeds on fish, cephalopods,[15] krill, and barnacles.[4]
Reproduction
This species of albatross breeds annually on rocky ledges, steep slopes, and crevices. They build pedestal nests of soil and vegetation.[4] At this time The Pyramid is their only breeding site. They lay their single egg between 20 August and 1 October, with the egg hatching in November or December, after 68–72 days. The chicks fledge by March or April,[15] or 130 to 140 days after hatching. Juveniles return to the colony after four years, but do not breed until their seventh year.[4]
Range and habitat
Location | Population | Date | Trend |
---|---|---|---|
The Pyramid, Chatham Islands | 5,300 pair | 2003 | Stable |
Total | 11,000 | 2003 | Stable |
The Chatham albatross nests only on The Pyramid in the Chatham Islands. Using aerial photography, in 1998, scientists estimated that there were between 3,200 and 4,200 pairs nesting.[16] Ground counts from 1999 to 2003 increased this number to 5,300[3] pairs for a total of approximately 11,000 breeding age birds. When not breeding they range in the South Pacific from Tasmania to Chile and Peru. From April to July they will utilize the Humboldt Current and go as far north as 6°S along the South American coast.[3][17]
Conservation
The
In 2014, the Chatham Islands Taiko Trust translocated 50 juvenile albatrosses to a protected breeding site on Main Chatham Island, some 50 km north of the Pyramid. It was hoped that a new colony could be established within five years which would give the species a chance to thrive in less extreme conditions.[20] In total 300 chicks were trans-located over the period 2014 to 2018. Each day during the period of the project, 60KG of a squid and fish mixture was prepared, warmed and fed, to the chicks by volunteers of the Chatham Island Taiko Trust. The success or the translocation project is not yet confirmed. The birds, once they depart the colony, spend five to seven years at sea. If the birds return to nest on the new location this will provide an indication of the projects' success.
Footnotes
- ^ . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Brands, S. (2008)
- ^ a b c d e f Robertson, C. J. R., et al. (2003)
- ^ a b c d e f g Robertson, C. J. R. (2003)
- ^ Double, M. C. (2003)
- ^ Ehrlich, Paul R. (1988)
- ^ Robertson, C. J. R. & Nunn, G. B. (1998)
- ^ a b c d BirdLife International (2008)
- ^ Brooke, M. (2004)
- ^ ACAP (2007)
- ^ a b Remsen, J. V. Jr. (2004)
- ^ a b Remsen, J. V. Jr. (2005)
- ^ a b Remsen, J. V. Jr. (2008)
- ^ Clements, J. (2007)
- ^ a b Marchant, S. & Higgins, P. J. (1990)
- ^ a b Croxall, J. P. & Gales, R. (1998)
- ^ BirdLife International (2004)
- ^ New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2007)
- ^ Taylor, G. A. (2000)
- ^ Heimbuch, Jaymi. "Why are these wild albatross chicks sitting in flower pots?". Mother Nature Network. Narrative Content Group. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
References
- "Species Assessments" (PDF). ACAP (Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels). 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Threatened birds of the world 2004 (CD-ROM). Cambridge, U.K.: BirdLife International. 2004.
- BirdLife International (2008). "Chatham Albatross - BirdLife Species Factsheet". Data Zone. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- Brands, Sheila (Aug 14, 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification - Diomedea (Thalassogeron) cauta -". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- Brooke, M. (2004). "Procellariidae". Albatrosses And Petrels Across The World. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850125-0.
- ISBN 978-0-8014-4501-9.
- Croxall, J. P.; Gales, R. (1998). "Assessment of the conservation status of albatrosses". In Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (eds.). Albatross biology and conservation. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty & Sons.
- Double, M. C. (2003). "Procellariiformes (Tubenosed Seabirds)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 8. Vol. Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 107–111. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.
- Ehrlich, Paul R.; Dobkin, David, S.; Wheye, Darryl (1988). The Birders Handbook (First ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 29–31. ISBN 0-671-65989-8.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-0-19-553068-1.
- "More measures for seabird protection" (Press release). New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries. 13 Sep 2007. Retrieved 22 Feb 2009.
- Remsen, J. V. Jr.; et al. (Dec 2004). "Proposal No. 155 to South American Check-list Committee: Split Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta into two or three species". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 18 Feb 2009.
- Remsen, J. V. Jr.; et al. (Feb 2005). "Proposal (#166) to South American Classification Committee: Re-lump Thalassarche eremita and Thalassarche salvini with Thalassarche cauta". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 2008-05-08. Retrieved 18 Feb 2009.
- Remsen, J. V. Jr.; et al. (28 Feb 2008). "Proposal (#255) to South American Classification Committee : Follow-up to Proposal 155: Split Thalassarche cauta into three species". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 18 Feb 2009.
- Robertson, C. J. R. (2003). "Albatrosses (Diomedeidae)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 8. Vol. Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. p. 120. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.
- Robertson, C. J. R.; Bell, D.; Sinclair, N.; Bell, B. D. (2003). "Distribution of seabirds from New Zealand that overlap with fisheries worldwide". Science for Conservation (233). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation.
- Robertson, C. J. R.; Nunn, G. B. (1998). "Towards a new taxonomy for albatrosses". In Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (eds.). Albatross biology and conservation. Chipping Norton, Australia: Surrey Beatty & Sons. pp. 13–19.
- Taylor, G. A. (2000). "Action plan for seabird conservation in New Zealand. Wellington: Department of Conservation". Threatened Species Occasional Publication (16).
External links
- Chatham albatross, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Thalassarche eremita — Chatham Albatross, Australian government